Hostels outperform hotels as accommodation demand shifts to lower-cost options – GSS
According to the Service’s Accommodation Unit Survey, hostels recorded room occupancy rates of about 91% to 95% during the period, with standard hostels recording particularly high room occupancy of approximately 96% to 99%.
Hostels outperformed various hotel categories in Ghana between November 2024 and February 2025, according to a report from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). The Accommodation Unit Survey revealed that hostels had room occupancy rates ranging from 91% to 95%, with standard hostels achieving an impressive 96% to 99%. In contrast, some hotel categories struggled, with 1-star hotels experiencing only a 28% room occupancy rate in February 2025, with bed occupancy at 24%.
The GSS highlighted that despite hotels comprising about 70% of available room capacity and 55% to 60% of occupied rooms each month, these performance disparities demonstrate the need to consider more than just available capacity or room rates when evaluating accommodation businesses. National room occupancy remained below 50% during the four-month period, averaging 44.7% in November 2024, peaking at 46.6% in December, declining to 44.1% in January 2025, and returning to 44.7% in February.
The GSS advises that businesses should assess performance based on factors like occupancy, pricing, guest mix, and length of stay. For investors and financial institutions, these findings suggest considering demonstrated demand and utilization when evaluating accommodation investments rather than focusing solely on the amount of available capacity. The report emphasizes that these findings represent an emerging baseline, based on a four-month survey conducted within a 12-month timeframe.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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